Among the Vinca

Chapter 20: Eric

I woke up to the sun shining, and feeling like I was being fried alive. I was laying on top of the sand, and every inch of my skin that wasn't covered in clothes was bright scarlet.

Drat! Just what I need! Dehydrating faster. Lovely. Just perfect! I heard Blake stirring. I looked over at her. She looked at me critically.

"You are very sunburnt." I looked at her just as critically. I was hoping to find sunburn, since she was as fair skinned as I was, but she wasn't burned at all. Then I noticed the little burrow she was in. She had piled sand all around her, and had slept on her stomach, preventing sunburn. How smart are you? Do you never run out of genius ideas? I noticed she had her hair down, probably to better protect her face. It softened her sharp features as it hung in pretty curly waves down her back and rested on her cheeks. She had nice eyes, too. A bluish gray... Or was it a grayish blue?

"Are you upset at my stating of the obvious, or are you trying to come up with a response?" I started out of my thoughts.

"No, I was just..."

There is no way I'm telling her I was trying to figure out what color her eyes are. I saw Ryan and Whynne stirring. Grateful for the distraction, I walked over to them.

"Dude! You are super sunburned!"

"I don't burn. I tan. It looks great with my hair."

This girl grinds my nerves... But we're really lucky to be together. Amazingly lucky. It would have been ridiculously easy to be far apart.

"So, do you wish to look at the interior of all of the packs, or do you wish to begin travel immediately?" Blake asked.

"I think we should look at the packs. We should get a general idea of what we're dealing with, plus we need to know how much water we have, so we can ration it properly." I suggested.

"Is there any objections?" Blake asked. When no one answered, she plopped herself on the ground and Whynne sat down gracefully, like a ballerina.

Girls are weird.

"Who would like to begin?"

"Er, I will, I guess." I answered with uncertainty. I unpacked my stuff and laid it out. My beef jerky, a sharp steel knife, some flint, another knife for skinning animals, my water carriers, which I had thankfully remembered to fill, some lotion, (which I hoped would help my sunburn) A bottle of painkillers, a pack of matches, a firestarter, a couple spare pairs of socks and gloves, a medium sized bottle of rubbing alcohol, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, a regular sized bar of soap, a towel, (which was wrapped around my pack. I didn't waste space, but as a result, it got sopping wet) some bandages, a bottle of iodine, a thermometer, a deck of cards, and a container of ointment. Whynne looked at my beef jerky and giggled. I don't know how someone can giggle and sound snotty at the same time, but she managed it.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Why beef jerky?"

"It lasts a long time, and it's good protein!"

"But it's dried. We're in the desert. It will make us thirsty. That makes it a little useless, don't ya think?"

What is her deal? Why does she keep criticizing me? I'm so sick of people like you... I thought I could avoid those when I came here.

"I didn't know that we would land at a desert. I doubt you did, either." It was most satisfying to see that smirk slide off her face. "I do wish I'd remembered sunscreen though..."